KALAMAZOO. Mich.- Four Bronco softball players were honored as All-Mid-American Conference selections on May 10. Senior pitcher Allyson Kus, senior 2B Melissa Palmer and senior SS Sabrina Gamboa all earned First Team recognition and junior 3B Kelsea Cichocki was named to the Second Team.
The three First Team selections is the most for WMU since 2011. For Palmer, it was her third All-MAC recognition of her career as she also earned Second Team nods in 2013 and 2015. For Cichocki, it is her second-straight season on the Second Team.
A four-time MAC Pitcher of the Week, Kus had a 9-5 record and a 1.99 ERA during MAC play, totaling 69 strikeouts, 28 walks, 12 complete games and one save in 16 appearances. Her conference ERA ranked fourth in the MAC and she was third for innings pitched (98.2) and seventh for strikeouts - fifth for strikeouts looking. She fanned a career-high 14 batters vs. Ball State on April 29.
Palmer had a .361 batting average during conference games, with 26 hits, four doubles, one triple, six RBIs, 14 runs scored, a .444 slugging percentage, .418 on-base percentage and seven multi-hit games. She batted primarily second in the Bronco lineup. Her conference batting average was eighth-best in the MAC and she was was fifth for hits and in the top 10 for runs scored. On the season, Palmer is batting a team-best .320.
Gamboa batted .355 during MAC games, totaling 22 hits, four doubles, two home runs, 11 RBIs and 12 runs scored. She had a .516 slugging percentage and led the team with a .431 on-base percentage. Gamboa has 19 career home runs, which ranks second in school history. For the season she is batting .278.
Cichocki maintained a .314 batting average against league foes, recording 22 hits, two doubles, one home run, 13 RBIs and seven runs scored. She had a .953 fielding percentage at third base. For the season, she is hitting .320, which is tied with Palmer as the highest average on the team.
The Broncos are the No. 5 seed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament and will face No. 4 seed Northern Illinois in the opening game of the tournament Wednesday, May 11, at 10:30 a.m. at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio.
